Lexi's Poetry Challenge prompt "What It's Worth" |
Crisp white emptiness The bedding tucked in Proficient, no wrinkles Sanitized perfectionism Only found in hospitals You are no longer here Weeks I spent in the waiting room Trying to visit But each time was told the same thing "Only immediate family allowed" As if the one you spent the last twenty years with Wasn't immediate enough Your parents were allowed in It didn't matter that they had kicked you out You had only been sixteen at the time Disowned for admitting same-sex attractions They never bothered to call With no desire to ask if things were going well Yet all their neglect was cleaned off the slate When they arrived at the hospital Immediate family, only your family by chance Not by actually being there I didn't get to say goodbye Everything would have been different If we had been married A simple piece of paper Was all it would have taken But laws were enacted To deny same-sex couples like us The option Just a damn piece of paper I don't know if you can hear me The funeral will be tomorrow But your parents have already let it be known That my presence is unwelcome So for what it is worth Here I stand In this vacant hospital room Just for the chance to say Goodbye my love |